n this research we are going to discuss the dangerous consequences of anger as a destructive phenomenon and how the Quran deal with that phenomenon
Let us read…………
A recent study held by German researchers in University of Bonn who asked more than 800 people to fill in a questionnaire designed to gauge how they handled anger. They also took a DNA test to determine which of three versions of a gene called DARPP-32 they were carrying.
They found that the gene affects levels of dopamine, a brain chemical linked to anger and aggression. Those with the ‘TT’ or ‘TC’ versions were significantly angrier than those with the ‘CC’ version.
The University of Bonn study also found that the angry types had less grey matter in the amygdala, a part of the brain that helps keep our emotions in check.
It is thought that having a least one ‘T’ gene raises levels of dopamine, leaving people on edge – and apt to lose their temper.
Researcher Martin Reuter, a ‘TC’, said: ‘In other words, they are not able to control their feelings as well as those without the mutation.
Also they found that those with the ‘CC’ version, however, may find it easier to keep their cool. The ‘TT’ and ‘TC’ versions are much more common in Western populations.
But they cautioned that furious sorts cannot lay all the blame for their bad behavior on DNA. The researchers believe that Genetics only account for around half of the disposition towards anger, and DARPP-32 is one of several genes involved.
Professor Reuter said: “You can modify your personality within the range given to you by nature.” (we Muslims definitely disagree with what he said as we believe that Allah Almighty is the giver not the blind nature)!!! .
‘There are no excuses for bad behavior.’ He added as previous research has shown that being angry is bad for health.
Another U.S. study of 559 ‘angry men’ found that those who flew into rages the most often had more than double the rate of heart disease.
British scientists said that healthy people who lose their temper are 19 per cent more likely to die of a heart attack than those who keep their emotions under control. And among those who already have heart disease, ferocious outbursts raise the risk of dying from their condition to 24 per cent.
What is anger?
Anger is a mixture of both emotional and physical changes. A big surge of energy goes through the body as chemicals, such as adrenaline, are released.
Psychiatrists say that once the cause of the anger is resolved, may still have to deal with the physical effects – all that energy has to go somewhere. This can be taken out on another person, such as a partner, or an object – by punching a wall, for example. This last option can lead down the road to self-harm.
Does anger hurt a country’s economy?
A recent survey showed that loosing temper costs the British economy an estimated £16billion a year – and every Briton £420.
Smashed crockery and broken glasses were the most common victims of temper tantrums, according to the survey by internet bank Cahoot.
Men’s rage costs an average of £440 a year, women’s not far behind on £400.
One in five of the 700 people questioned admitted being prone to road rage outbursts, while 7% found public transport a trigger for angry outbursts.
One in ten became irate in queues – about the same number who found supermarket trolleys their anger nemesis. But more than half said that being put on hold on the phone was the best way to enrage them.
Anger and Immune system
Dr Donna Dawson, a psychologist, said: “Rage is a complicated thing. More often than not it is caused by fear – fear of loss, fear of injury or even fear of disappointment.
“We are taught that anger is a harmful and negative emotion but it can be useful and positive depending on how it is expressed.” said Donna
She suggested that unresolved anger contributed to the release of stress hormones, which can weaken the immune system by destroying key immune cells.
Psychologists say that anger can weaken the immune system by destroying key immune cells.
Another research concluded that anger weaken the immune system in both men and women caring for a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease as People have traditionally looked at depression and stress with a one-size-fits-all mentality, according to the study’s lead author, Dr. James M. Scanlan of the University of Washington in Seattle.
This view suggests that “all stressors will apply equally to all people,” he explained.
But Scanlan and his colleagues argue that there are certain groups, such as older men and caregivers, who are more vulnerable to stress and depression.
The researchers studied the relationship between anger, depressed feelings and the immune system in 82 elderly individuals who cared for a spouse with Alzheimer’s disease. Caregivers were compared with a “control” group of 83 married non caregivers who were matched for age and sex.
Scanlan noted that caregiving is not a traditional male role, which may affect how men cope with this responsibility. Some research has suggested, he added, that men’s bodies are better equipped for dealing with short-term challenges than long-term challenges. He noted that men typically experience bursts of stress hormones when faced with a challenge, but this type of response may not be effective for dealing with chronic sources of stress, such as caregiving.
Although the relationship between depressed mood and immunity differed by gender, higher levels of anger were linked to reduced immune function at the end of the study in both male and female caregivers.
“The combination of anger and chronic stress can result in reduced immune function,” Scanlan said.
Anger and death
Recent studies illustrate that Feelings of rage can make those vulnerable to heart problems up to 10 times more likely to need life-saving treatment to correct their heartbeat.
According to a new study, researchers believe that earthquakes, war or even the loss of a World Cup Soccer match can increase rates of death from sudden cardiac arrest, in which the heart stops circulating blood.
“It’s definitely been shown in all different ways that when you put a whole population under a stressor that sudden death will increase,” said Dr. Rachel Lampert of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, whose study appears in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. “Our study starts to look at how this really affects the electrical system of the heart.” She added
Dr Lambert and colleagues studied 62 patients with heart disease and implantable heart defibrillators or devices that can detect dangerous heart rhythms or arrhythmias and deliver an electrical shock to restore a normal heart beat.
Patients took part in an exercise in which they recounted a recent angry episode while Lambert’s team performed to measure electrical instability in the heart.
Dr Lampert said the team specifically asked questions to make patients angry. “We found anger did increase this electrical instability in these patients,” she said.
“Anger causes electrical changes in the heart “scientists say
They subsequently followed patients for three years to see which patients later had a cardiac arrest and needed a shock from their implantable defibrillator.
“The people who had the highest anger-induced electrical instability were 10 times more likely than everyone else to have an arrhythmia in follow-up,” said Dr Lambert. “It says anger really does impact the heart’s electrical system in very specific ways that can lead to sudden death.” she added.
Anger and overweight
Researchers at the American Heart Association says that teenagers who don’t manage their anger, either by suppressing feelings, or the other extreme of losing one’s temper, are at higher risk for weight gain than those who do.
“Problems expressing anger can translate into eating disorders and increased weight, which leads to a high risk of cardiovascular disease at a young age,” said William H. Mueller, lead author of the study and professor of behavioral science at the University of Texas.
In the mid-1990s, investigators at the university conducted a pilot study in which they found a strong association between body mass index and internalized anger in teenagers. The association was stronger in girls than in boys.
“Problems expressing anger can translate into eating disorders “scientists say
Project Heart Beat! is a study of children aged 8 to 18 that observes the development of cardiac structure and function in adolescence. As part of the study, Mueller and colleagues followed the eldest children – a group of 160 (14 to 17 year-olds) – for three years.
Researchers found that anger habits in a child tended to remain stable over time. However, average anger control scores increased over time and were higher in children with lower BMIs. Anger expression scores decreased over time but were higher in children with increasing BMI’s.
“Overweight kids have poor health behaviors, including anger expression, which may lead to increased weight, especially in girls,” he said.
“These kids develop unhealthy ways of dealing with their emotions. They tend to isolate themselves, watch TV or read rather than connecting with their friends.” Added Mueller
Children with high “anger control” scores acknowledge their feelings of anger, but are able to express those feelings appropriately. These children tend to have normal weights.
“It is not just ‘anger in’ or ‘anger out,'” Mueller said. “We’re suggesting that it is important to look at the emotional health of kids. It’s beyond just diet and exercise. We need to look at the broader sociological picture. If they feel good about resolving interpersonal stress and learn to decrease conflict, these skills will spill over into their general lifestyle.”
Anger affects millions of people
Latest figures illustrate that one in 20 Americans might be susceptible to uncontrollable anger attacks in which they lash out in road rage, spousal abuse or other severe transgressions that are totally unjustified, researchers from Harvard University and the University of Chicago report.
Their study found that the condition called intermittent explosive Anger disorder is not the rare occurrence that psychiatrists had thought. About 5 percent of people in the study’s nationally representative sample were found to have physically assaulted someone, threatened bodily harm or destroyed property in a rage an average of five times a year. That would make the disorder more pervasive than better-known mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, said Dr. Emil Coccaro, the University of Chicago’s chief of psychiatry.
Dr. Emil F. Coccaro is Ellen C. Manning Professor and Chair of
the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience
at The University of Chicago
Intermittent explosive disorder is different from the common type of anger most people exhibit from time to time, when they pout, throw down a book or walk out of a room, activities that are better described as mild temper tantrums. IED is defined as repeated and uncontrollable anger attacks that often become violent.
“People with rage disorder often misinterpret another person’s harmless action as a personal threat to them and respond violently” Coccaro said.
“Our new study suggests IED is really out there and that a lot of people have it,” Coccaro added. “That’s the first step, for the public to actually get treated for it, because if you don’t think it’s really a disorder, you’re never going to get treated for it.” Coccaro mentioned.
The new research, reported in the current issue of the Archives of General Psychiatry, involved person-to-person interviews of 9,282 people 18 years and older conducted from 2001 to 2003. The subjects were part of the National Comorbidity Survey Replication, a government-funded epidemiological study of mental health.
The authors said their findings suggest two disturbing trends that will require additional study: that IED is on the increase among teenagers and that it might set the stage for the onset of such other mental conditions as depression and alcoholism. Eight of 10 people with IED subsequently develop other mental disorders, they found.
“Given its age of onset, identifying IED early, determining its causes and providing treatment might prevent some of the associated secondary disorders, such as anxiety and alcohol abuse,” said Ronald Kessler, a professor of health care policy at Harvard.
Ronald Kessler is a Professor of Health Care Policy at Harvard Medical School.
The study found that the rage disorder typically begins at age 13 in boys and 19 in girls, that it increases rapidly in the teen years, that it is less prevalent among respondents in their 40s and that it becomes even less so among people in their 60s.
“Is there something profoundly important about how society is changing that’s leading to this apparent increase in people not being able to control their emotions and lashing out at other people?” asked Kessler. “Is it that we’re bad parents and we’re creating these little monsters? Is television doing it?
New brain imaging studies show that people with IED have abnormal brain signaling in areas that control anger responses, Coccaro said.
Researchers found that when people with rage disorder are shown pictures of angry faces, their amygdala lights up far more than is seen in healthy subjects. The amygdala, deep in the center of the brain, governs emotional responses to threats.
At the same time, the front portion of their brain, which serves as an executive control over emotional urges, is less active than in normal people, Coccaro said, indicating that people with IED quickly lose control.
“People with this problem have a low threshold for exploding, and that’s probably genetically and biologically mediated,” he said.
How to control your intense anger?
It is highly simple process and it needs only learning of simple law and how to practice that law. Scientists tell us today about existence of subconscious Mind that controls the Man’s anger, reactions, feelings and even his acts! However, we do not directly know that Mind because it is subconscious i.e. invisible.
However, the tests have proved scientific fact that the conscious Mind with which we think and use, connects to the subconscious Mind with narrow channels .You are able for example to give your subconscious Mind a suggestion that you are able to do something. With repetition of this suggestion, the subconscious Mind will response and starts actually the change.
The scientists have found that the period during which the connection between the conscious Mind and the subconscious Mind becomes active is the period, which is few minutes prior to the sleeping, and the period which is few minutes prior to the waking up. On his, book “the Power of Your Subconscious Mind” with sales of more than million copy, Dr. JosephMurhpy concludes after thousands of tests that the best method to control anger and anger is to repeat before the sleeping and after the waking up phrases like “I will become as of this moment calm & balanced person and free from anger, and this result will appear in my behavior tomorrow”.
Dr.Murfi has treated many cases with this method with excellent results, and all treated persons have obtained improvement in their anger. Indeed, some of them have become quieter than the normal person.
Now we wish that all and in particular, those who are not convinced with the Islam teachings that Noble Prophet had spoken clearly about this phenomena. That is to say, about importance of the communication with the subconscious Mind during period prior to the sleeping and that one after the waking up. The Prophet instructed us to call Allah during these two periods, but what sort of call is that? The Prophet had instructed us to repeat the following words before the sleep:” My God. To You, I have surrendered my face and delegated my affair and has resorted with my full will and fears of you. There is no refuge except to you and no rescuer “from your punishment” except you. I am faithful to your book which is revealed to us and to your Prophet which you had sent to us” PBUH.
Let us think together about extent of meaning for above words as to discharge of stresses and social problem that accumulated throughout the day! in addition, to what extent it contains of calmness and psychological stability to the person who repeats them before the sleeping.
Scientists in America do treat and teach their sick persons how to address themselves “I will become as of this moment calm & balanced person free from anger, and this result will appear in my behavior tomorrow”.
On the other hand the Prophet teaches us how to address Allah (SWT) and leave our stresses and anger to Him and surrender the whole matter to Him to do what He wants. The question now is: Is there anything better than Allah (SWT) to be your doctor?
We recall here words of Abraham (PBUH) when he said (Who has created me, and it is He Who guides me * And it is He Who feeds me and give me to drink*And when I am ill, it is He Who cures me* And He Who cause me to die, and then will bring me to life” again”* And Who I hope will forgive my fault on the day of Recompense” the Day of Resurrection”) (Surat Ash-Shuara 78-82).
Therefore, that is the Quran programming which teaches you the most important rule for restoration of the health and that is : Allah (SWT)Who cures you and not your subconscious Mind or your physician .These are just means which Allah made available to you in order to use as method for the treatment. This indicates that the power of the Quran to cure is bigger than the cure by Self-addressing. However if one resorts to the Quran and the psychiatry, the result will be great.
Now we are going to react with a practical plan, which combines between the modern science & Quran on treatment of anger.
Practical & scientific steps to treat the chronic anger
1- Through more than half century, the psychiatrists confirm basic step that follow in order to cure the anger and that is to admit failure or sickness. When the psychiatric anger develops it becomes chronic sickness, which accompanies the sick person through his life. This sick person will not get health, until he admits that such sickness exists and he should hurry up for the treatment.
The above is scientific fact and it is not an opinion of a psychiatrist or a theory that is subject to the fault and correctness. All scientists have confirmed the fact that the person should tell himself instantly after the intense anger, that he had been hasty and wrongful, when he acted in an angry manner. This step is the most important one towards treatment of the anger.
2- Second step, which important and complementary to the first one is to try to send messages to the subconscious Mind that tell as follows (I have to stop this anger because it is wrongful and lead undesirable results and causes me a lot of embarrassment).He should repeat this message and get convinced with it. In other words, he should determine that he would not act again in that manner which degrades him.
3- There is a practical step which the “angry person” should forthwith start to apply and that is to be tolerant with others. The studies have shown that the persons who live too long are the most tolerant persons!
Therefore, you should own the will to forgive and tolerate others who had abused or annoyed you. Without the said step, you would not improve and the anger will remain as dominant. Today researchers confirm as well that spending money on the poor persons and assisting them gives us some sort of stability and state of peace and cures his acute anger.
Verily, the forgiveness or tolerance is necessary and essential matter because it cures roots of the failure. The reason behind any anger is the feeling of the angry person that the others have abused him, and accordingly he acts in an angry manner as revenging act against them. And if he decided as well to send messages to himself which confirm his determination to tolerate the others, and he repeated these messages, he would find himself tolerant in fact!
4 -There is an internal action that should adopts as well, and that is to resist the anger and try to put an end to it by repeating another message saying (I have to resist any anger however mild is). This massage will find its way to the subconscious Mind which the main controller of anger.
5- As alternative action, when you follow some method with a strong believe that it leads to success but it does not, then you should change it. You should follow another way to achieve the required success. Believing in success is half success i.e. if you have strong belief in success in some work; the said belief will be the effective motive to succeed in that work.
Therefore, you should have strong belief that you have the capability to cure you anger, and that the said anger will easily ends and expires. However you continuously tell and direct yourself to necessity of leaving the said anger and not to insist on it.
You have to imagine your brain as collection of engineering devices which perceives the orders and instructions .If the said machine is continuously addressed with messages stating that are willing to cure the anger, and you trust the matter. Later on the said machine will gradually respond, and you will be having the capability to control the said anger. Beware not to leave negative and dark results to reach your mind, and let only the illuminating and positive messages to enter.
Now, and after we have come across the scientific treatment by way of human programming, what does the Quran programming say?
Quranic Verses on the Treatment
The description of the paradise, which is stated in the Holy Quran and Allah, promised those who fear Him to enter in it: (And march forth in the way “which leads to” forgiveness from your Lord, and for paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth, prepared for Al-Mutaqun ” pious believers”){ Surat Al-Imran 133}……But what are the descriptions of those Mutaqun “pious believers”?
Allah (SWT) says in the next verse the following (Those who spend “in Allah’s cause” in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger and who pardon people; verily Allah loves Al-Muhsineen”the good doers){Surat Al-Imran 134}.
These verses have included three practical actions:
1- Spending some money on the poor persons and this has been confirmed by all psychologists as giving us a kind of psychological stability🙁 who spend in prosperity and in adversity).
2- The person should try to extinguish his anger by any means and not allow it to be thrown at others. This rule teaches us as well, something of self-control 🙁 who repress anger).
3- The verse includes a practical action and that is to pardon others, a matter, which all psychologists confirm today that pardon of others is the best method to control anger.(pardon people) .
We come now to the verse that follows: ( And those who, when they have committed Fahishah “Illegal sexual intercourse” or wronged themselves with evil, remember Allah and ask forgiveness For their sins-and none can forgive sins but Allah and do not persist in what-” wrong” they have Done, while they know){ Surat al-Imran135}.
This verse includes as well three practical actions to treat self-contempt and we all know that anger, hastiness and recklessness are kinds of self-contempt, and these actions are:
1- Admitting the fault : when the believer commits a sin or self-contempt or become angry or hasty In an act, he should immediately know his fault and admits :- (remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their sins).This verse affirms admission of the fault because Istigfar and asking the Magfira” forgiveness” from Allah(SWT) will not come except after the believer feels his fault and offense & request forgiveness from Allah.
In fact, all researchers have confirmed that self-admission of offence is the way to treatment so the Qur’an requires us to admit our offences to Allah (SWT) who is the most able to cure us.
2- To get certain that anger and fault could be treated, and the scientists have confirmed that the patient’s confidence and certainty of his recovery constitutes half recovery if not more. This matter clarifies His words (SWT) :( and none can forgive sins but Allah).These words give the believer great confidence that the forgiveness of offense is possible and that the anger might not come again.
3 -All scientists specialized on the Neuro- Linguistic Programming confirms that the ideal method to treat most of psychological distempers and anger requires adequate and strong Will to stop anger and not to insist upon it. The question here isn’t it the same thing mentioned in noble verse ;( and do not persist in what-” wrong” they have done, while they know)!!!?
Let us read the following verses to understand its meanings :( And march forth ‘ in the way ‘ which leads to’ forgiveness from your Lord, and for Paradise as wide as the heavens and the earth prepared for Al-Muttaqun (the pious).Those who spend (in Allah’s cause) in prosperity and in adversity, who repress anger and who pardon people; verily Allah loves Al-Muhsinun (the good doers) .And those who, when they have committed Fahishah (illegal sexual intercourse) or wronged themselves with evil. Remember Allah and ask forgiveness for their Sins; and none can forgive sins but Allah – and do not persist in what (wrong) they have done, while they know. For such the reward is forgiveness from their Lord, and gardens with rivers flowing underneath (Paradise), wherein they shall abide forever. How excellent Is this reward for the doers (who do righteous deeds according to Allah’s Orders){ Surat Al-Imran 133-136}.
Finally
Allah Almighty didn’t create this world without putting the right legislation that suit mankind. So that He Almighty gave us the right prescription to live in peace in this world and to enter His heaven in the hereafter.
Allah Almighty tells people how they should deal with anger when He Almighty tells us in Qur’an about the characteristics of believers by saying:
(and when they are angry, they forgive){Sûrat Ash-Shûra – The Consultation –verse37}.
Also He Almighty tells us to be patient especially on those who hurt us to get the best reward in this life and in the hereafter by saying: (And those who remain patient, seeking their Lord’s Countenance, perform As-Salat (Iqamat-as-Salat), and spend out of that which We have bestowed on them, secretly and openly, and defend evil with good, for such there is a good end*’Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens), which they shall enter and (also) those who acted righteously from among their fathers, and their wives, and their offspring. And angels shall enter unto them from every gate (saying):* “Salamun ‘Alaikum (peace be upon you) for that you persevered in patience! Excellent indeed is the final home){Sûrat Ar-Ra‘d – The Thunder –verse22-24}.
Also He Alimghty says : (The good deed and the evil deed cannot be equal. Repel (the evil) with one which is better (i.e. Allah ordered the faithful believers to be patient at the time of anger, and to excuse those who treat them badly), then verily! he, between whom and you there was enmity, (will become) as though he was a close friend){Sûrat Fussilat –verse34}.
These advices are the same as what the scientists of NPL advise us to do, aren’t they?!!!
They advise us to forgive, to look in the positive side, to change negative feelings to positive feelings and to change enmity to friendship.
Glory to Allah!!!!!!!
These golden rules of how to deal with people not only mentioned by Allah Almighty in the Qur’an but He inspired these rules to His prophet as prophet Mohamed peace be upon him one day advice a Bedouin man by saying: “don’t be angry”{ narrated by Al-bukhari }.
Also, one day a man asked the prophet to tell him some words that he has to follow but in concise , then the prophet said” avoid anger ”{Hadith Sahih according to the classification of Al-Albany}.
In another time, the prophet asked his companions “who is the strongest man , they answered the one that no man can defeat, but he answered them that the strongest man is the one who control himself when he is angry”{narrated by Muslim}.
Who told this illiterate man to advice others not to be angry at a time when anger was considered to be a habit in the community?
Indeed He is Allah Almighty who inspired the prophet to teach the entire humanity and to guide them to the right path.
Thanks Allah for the blessing of Islam
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By: Abduldaem Al-Kaheel
References:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1176974/Keep-losing-temper-Blame-angry-gene.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/emotional_health/mental_health/coping_angermanagement.shtml
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/2288742.stm
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20040217042746_health_news.shtml
http://www.angerbusting.biz/study_uncontrolled_anger_and_rage.html
